Building structure



p N. GREENWELL ET AL 0 BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 18 1 939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 29, 1942.

N. GREENWELL ETAL BUILDING STRUCTURE Fiie d Nov. 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l I lll H MMI MIHMU Patented Sept. 29, 1942 OFFICE BUILDING STRUCTURE Nevil Greenwell, Bethlehem; and Charles Schenck, Coopersburg, Pa., assignors to Bethlehem Steel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 18, 1939, Serial No. 305,076

1 Claim. (o1.1s9-1') This invention relates to grandstands and the like structures having a decking of preformed metal and has for its objects to simplify and improve the construction of such structures, to reduce to'a minimum the field labor incidental to erection, to provide a water-tight construction, thus making the space under the structure available for other uses, and to provide a novel interlocked and welded condition where the plates are joined.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel rigid structure which is readily assembled by interlocking the constituent members thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structure composed of a series of members which are small enough to be easily handled and transported and permit storage in a relatively limited area.

A further object of the invention is to provide a supporting structure which is easily assembled and yet is of more durable construction than heretofore known or used.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a supporting structure the constituents of which can have slightly varying dimensions without offering difliculty of assembly.

Other features and details of the invention are set forth hereinafter and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a grandstand constructed according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a portion of the assembly in greater detail;

Fig. 3 is a side view of two of our novel deck plates showing the manner of assembly;

Fig. 4 is a side view of an alternative form of the bracket;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the grandstand;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the grandstand; and

Fig. '7 is a section taken along line 'I-I of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, concrete blocks II! are set into the ground to act as a foundation for front wall I I, back wall I2, and supports I3, I4, I5 and I6. Strengthening members I1 and I8 are positioned diagonally between supports I4 and I5 and are secured to the supports through gusset plates I9. Mounted upon the uppermost end of supports I3, I4, I5 and I6 are the rafters 22, 25 and 28. Rafter 22 extends from support I3 to support I4, being fastened to support I3 by bearing angle 2I which in turn is from the Vertical.

fastened to bearing plate 29 and is preferably a standard I-section. Where rafter 22 joins support' I3, a portion of the lower flange at the end of the rafter is cut away as shown at 23 to provide for fastening engagement of the web of the rafter with bearing angle 2|. Where rafter 22 joins support I4, a connecting angle 24 is provided as a fastening means. Rafter 25 extends from support I4 to support I5, connections being formed through angles 26 and 21. Rafter 28 extends from support I5 to support I3, being fastened to support I5 by angle 29 and to support I6 by bearing angle 30, the latter fastening being substantially the same as that of support I3.

Upon the rafters 28 are mounted brackets 3! which are made from flat strips of metal and comprise vertical members 32 and horizontal members 33. Each of the vertical members 32 is welded to the rafter at point 34 and is provided with slot 35 a short distance above point 34. The free end of the horizontal member 33 has portions cut away to form a tenon 36 which fits into slot 35 of the bracket immediately above and is welded thereto.

Upon the brackets 3| are mounted deck plates 31, each of which comprises tread portion 38 and riser portion 39 and which conforms substantially to the outline of the bracket except at its edges which are bent to formcontinuous flanges, tread portion 38 having aflange 40 disposed at an angle of approximately from horizontal, and riser portion 39 having a flange 4| disposed at an angle of approximately 30 Flange 40 of tread portion 38 of one deck plate forms a lap joint with flange 4| of riser portion 39 of the next deck plate, the joint being welded as shown in the drawing.

An alternative form of bracket is shown in Figure 4. It will be noted that instead of a slot and tenon joint, a welded butt-joint is employed to join the parts together.

To assemble the grandstand, the substructure, including the rafters 22, 25 and 28, is first constructed. The brackets 3| are then fastened to the rafters 22, 25 and 28 from the top downwardly, the first bracket being carefully lined up and welded to the rafter, the tenon of the next bracket being slipped into the slot of the first bracket and welded. This is continued all the way down to the end of the rafters. The alternative way of accomplishing this operation is shown in Figure 4, the tenon and slot being omitted and an ordinary weld substituted therefor. It will be seen that the separate brackets and their easy assembly is a distinct advance over the old methods of accomplishing the same result, the prior brackets being in one piece, thereby making them extremely bulky to handle and diiflcult to assemble with the rafters. The deck plates are next laid on the brackets and welded thereto from the bottom of the grandstand upwardly in the following manner. The bottom plate 43 which comprises a tread portion 38 and a flange 40 is placed on the bottom bracket and secured at intervals to the front The deck plates 31 are then assembled wall II. as clearly shown in Figure 3, the flange 4| of the riser portion 39 being placed behind flange 40 of tread portion 38 and rotated into position upon its supporting bracket. The flange 40 of tread portion 38 is, as mentioned heretofore, disposed at an angle of approximately 60 from the horizontal and when flange 4| of riser portion 39 is assembled therewith it will bear against flange 40 at an angle of approximately 30 from the vertical. However, flange 4| when formed is bent at an angle slightly in excess of 30 so that it will exert pressure against flange 4|] when the plates are assembled. The flanges 40 and 4| are then welded, which gives considerable strength to the structure, and also makes it water-tight. This type of structure is desirable as it is possible to install locker and dressing 7 rooms under the decking without further water- Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A structure comprising inclined rafters, brackets supported on said rafters, said brackets comprising a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, said vertical portion being slotted at a point spaced from but adjacent to its rafter 

